


Good For You

by RabbitLightning



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Cheating, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Sexual Content, Falling In Love, Heartbreak, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Lies, Link pov, M/M, Secrets, Sick Character, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 16:03:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7764223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitLightning/pseuds/RabbitLightning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link was running from his problems, something he seemed to do very often. Rhett was stuck in a rut and could see no way out. So alike, but also so different in so many ways.<br/>They weren't looking for love, but it seemed to find them regardless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good For You

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Rhink story and am kinda...unsure about it. I've been thinking about it and just really wanted to start to write it out to see how it would progress.  
> Please don't be too hard on me if it sucks...this is new territory :)

"I had always seemed to think I was invisible.

Maybe I read too many comic books as a kid, somehow convincing myself I was untouchable and would come out unscathed in the end. That I was starring in my own action movie and, no matter how badly I was beaten and bruised, in the end I would return as the hero in the next installment.

Maybe, at that time, my life just seemed endless. Years spanning out before me further than my eyes could see and wrapping me in the delusion of immortality....warming me with the blindness of everyone's youth.

Or..maybe I was just a kid.

I mean, what kid really thinks about death anyway."

 

xxxxx

 

Link:

 

It was raining.

 

It had been for hours now.

 

Link stood outside the gas station after almost fifteen hours driving, huddled closely against the wall under the brightly colored awning as he shifted slowly on his aching legs.

 

The gentle rumble of thunder in the distance had become some sort of a soundtrack for the last leg of his travels, the clatter of rain against the road almost calming as he made his way further and further towards what he hoped would be a better life.

His eyes stared out towards the parking lot from behind his glasses, focusing on the pump farthest from him where his car idled, the thick curtain of rain nearly masking it completely as a thick sheet of fog rose up from the cracked and dirty pavement.

This had all been a spur of the moment decision as he was laying in bed almost two whole days ago, his phone still overheating and held loosely in his hand as he stared up at the popcorn ceiling. His thoughts where muddled and blurred, his mind racing as he slowly shook his head back and forth.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Neal...but, it seems to have spread further than we had anticip-"

Over and over...that's all he heard. Those words playing like a broken record inside his mind as he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, head pounding.

He didn't want to stay there anymore.

He couldn't stand it.

The thought alone had turned his stomach enough that he had to push himself up and stumble into the bathroom, his knees hitting the chilled tile with an odd, saddening, sort of persecution as he took his usual place on the ground in front of the toilet. 

The sudden sound of bells brought him out of his thoughts, his head turning in time to watch the door of the aged building behind him open, the chain tied around the handle tangling around itself almost musically from the motion. His hands pulled themselves from his pockets to wrap his sweater closer around him against the chilled wind that wound it's way through the narrow span of sidewalk he stood upon.

A man, maybe a bit younger than himself, stepped outside and quickly made his way to the other side of the door, barely even glancing up to acknowledge Link's presents as his hands dug deep into the pockets of his baggy jeans to retrieve his phone and a crumpled pack of cigarettes.

Link watched the man out of the corner of his eye, his arms tightening around his narrow torso even more as the harsh gush of wind once again returned, rushing up around hi, and blowing his hair into his eyes. 

The silence was awkward, his heart picking up slightly as he shifted on his feet and turned his head to look at the man fully, reaching a hand to clear his line of sight.

The man's hair was a dark auburn, choppily cut and ruffled from the wind, his skin pale and stretch tightly over the his nose and cheek bones. His eyes were a light brown, Link noted as the man looked up at him, undoubtedly having left Link's heavy gaze on him.

Quickly Link looked away, his cheeks burning a bit as his eyes fell to the stained ground at his feet to watch as the worn toe of his sneaker kicked at a stray pebble. 

His mind started to wander again.

The image of the red haired man beside him flooded his thoughts, smiling down at Link as he wrapped his arms around his waist. The man's pale skin seeming to glow against Link's dark hair as he pulled him closer, his fingers lost in the thick mess.

He snapped his eyes shut, head shaking to rid itself of the odd images that assaulted his mind. 

Unexpected and unnerving....but not entirely un-welcomed.

"I thought California was supposed to be warm." He suddenly found himself saying, his uncomfortable chuckle low against the the rush of the mid-day traffic only yards away. He looked up and back over at the man, greeted only by his profile, his dark eyes cast down at the phone he held in his hand and his thin lips pushed down into a small frown.

"It has it's days like any other state I guess." Was the man's only reply, his slight shoulders raising and falling in a quick shrug. "What are you gonna do."

Half halfheartedly, Link nodded. "Yeah..." he said, his voice quiet and tinted faintly with rejection. "What are you going to do."

Embarrassment was evident in Link's eyes as they again fell to study the ground, his hands shoving his hands into the tight pockets of his jeans before ducking his head and stepping out into the storm. The raindrops were welcomed as they dripped down his heated cheeks and leaked under his hood and down his neck.

What was he doing?

What had he really been expecting.

His car was warm as he climbed inside, slamming the door shut behind him with more force than probably necessary before he dropped his hands onto the steering wheel with a dull thud. 

"Pathetic...." He mumbled to himself, his breathing hollow as the tightness in his chest constricted further. "Fucking pathetic."  
After a moment Link let out a shallow sigh and let his head fall against his knuckles.

A sob shook his body, his thoughts blurring together as his thumbs came to press against his throbbing temples.

Pathetic and stupid.

That's all he was.

 

xxxxx

 

Rhett:

 

It was another silent dinner.

The candle light starting to dim slightly as it flickered across the table and cast strange shadows over his nearly full plate. His fork moving around easily, mashing food together and creating nonsensical shapes.

He was tired and all he had really wanted to do when he got home was shower and go to bed, forgetting everything about this day and everybody in it, his appetite long quelled by the ache in his feet and the stink of stale coffee, sweat and spilled food that seemed to radiate off him in waves. But, as soon as he walked in the door, he was greeted with the smell of dinner and the distant bubble of pots on the stove. 

His head had fallen slightly as he stepped over the threshold and shut the door shut behind him with a soft click, the smell of burned and discarded food still lingering faintly in the air.

"Amy?" He called, making his way slowly through the living room, pausing only to mute the T.V as he passed. "What are you doing?"

His wife came around the corner in a flurry, her dark eyes darting towards Rhett and sending him a smell smile before she disappeared into the kitchen. "Come in here so we can talk."

Rhett let out a low sigh, his gaze drifting over the couch beside him longingly before he moved his feet forward, closing the short distance between him and the kitchen. The heat was stifling in there, new beads of sweat staring to bud at his temples as he leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How was your day?" Amy finally asked after a few moments, wiping the counter of with a nearby rag before turning to take something out of the oven. Rhett watched her flutter around the small room for awhile before answering, her dress fluttering out around her as she spun in almost a complete circle.

He had once loved her so much.

So much that he couldn't even imagine a day without her.

But now....it was hard.

She...was different.

"Fine, I guess. Just...wearing." He answered, adjusting slightly as he waved a hand around at the cluster of pots resting on the stove. "What is all this about?"

Her gaze darkened for a moment as she glanced over at the bowl set on the counter, forcing a smile onto her painted lips before she finally met his eyes. "It's our anniversary....I reminded you yesterday. Have you forgotten already." 

The days tallied up quickly in his mind, guilt slowly replacing the annoyance he once felt as he watched her turn and start pulling plates from the cupboard. He moved silently, stepping up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer.

"I'm sorry, babe." He said, his head lowering to rest a cheek against the top of her head. The smell of her shampoo, kiwi and vanilla, invading his senses as he took a deep breath. "I didn't forget...it was just a really long day."

She didn't say anything in reply, instead she just patted his arm and pulled from his embrace, turning on a heel to hurry off into the dining room, leaving him with nothing to do but stare after her.

That is how he found himself sitting in the near darkness, the minutes ticking into hours as he fiddled with his fork mindlessly. He glanced up every now and then at his wife to watch in silence as she ate, occasionally reaching up to dab her mouth with her napkin or brush away hair that had fallen into her face.

He did love her...or, he did at one point.

Now, all he wanted from her was to say something. 

Anything at all.

The storm that raged outside was the only sound in the room besides the light clanking of their silverware, the random bursts of lightning illuminating the room, shedding light on just how sad this whole situation was.


End file.
